“The incedence and intensity of poverty are more important in determining poverty based on income alone”. In this context analyse the latest United Nations Multidimensional Poverty Index Report.
Approach · directive: “analyse”
What it asks · Analyse how the global MPI measures poverty through incidence and intensity across health, education and living standards, and what it shows for India compared with income-based measures.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain: how the MPI measures poverty through incidence and intensity, and why that goes beyond income
- Analyse the latest UN MPI report (2020) and its findings for India
- Analyse: what the findings imply, the limits of the index and the way forward
Open with · A household can sit above the income line yet lack clean fuel, sanitation or schooling; the UNDP–OPHI global MPI counts these overlapping deprivations through incidence and intensity.
Cover
- Method: ten indicators in three equal dimensions; poor if deprived in a third or more of weighted indicators; MPI = incidence × intensity.
- 2020 report: 1.3 billion (22%) poor across 107 countries; 65 of 75 countries cut MPI significantly.
- India halved its MPI from 2005/06 to 2015/16, the biggest fall in poor people anywhere (over 270 million).
- Since then (2023): incidence 16.4%, intensity 42.0%; incidence 6.4 points above monetary poverty, so income hides deprivation.
- Persistent gaps in nutrition, schooling, sanitation and housing; 18.7% vulnerable; NITI national MPI fell from 24.85% to 14.96%.
- Limits: survey lags, household-level scoring, no capture of income shocks; way forward is convergent, district-targeted action.
Close with · SDG target 1.2 measures poverty 'in all its dimensions according to national definitions', so incidence and intensity, not income alone, are the yardstick of success.
Add value (verified)
- UNDP's 2023 India profile notes that multidimensional incidence is 6.4 percentage points higher than monetary poverty, so income alone hides deprivations.Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023 — Briefing note for countries: India (UNDP Human Development Report Office) ↗“The headcount or incidence of multidimensional poverty is 6.4 percentage points higher than the incidence of monetary poverty.”
- UNDP–OPHI 2020 global MPI: India halved its MPI between 2005/06 and 2015/16 and had the biggest reduction in poor people, over 270 million.OPHI — 2020 Release of the Global MPI ↗“India (2005/06–2015/16) did so nationally and among children and had the biggest reduction in the number of multidimensionally poor people (over 270 million).”
- 2020 global MPI: 1.3 billion people (22%) in 107 developing countries are multidimensionally poor.OPHI — 2020 Release of the Global MPI ↗“Across 107 developing countries and 5.9 billion people, 1.3 billion people—22 percent—live in multidimensional poverty.”
- 2020 global MPI: 65 of the 75 countries studied cut their MPI significantly.OPHI — 2020 Release of the Global MPI ↗“65 countries reduced their Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) significantly in absolute terms.”
- SDG target 1.2 measures poverty in all its dimensions, by national definitions.UN DESA — Sustainable Development Goal 1 ↗“living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 364words · Minimalist IAS
A household can sit above the income line yet lack clean cooking fuel, a toilet or a child in school. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) counts such overlapping deprivations. Its 2020 edition, the latest at the time, shows why incidence and intensity reveal more than income.
How incidence and intensity measure poverty
- Three dimensions: health, education and living standards, weighted equally across ten indicators such as nutrition, schooling, sanitation and housing.
- Poverty cut-off: a person is poor if deprived in a third or more of the weighted indicators.
- Two lenses: MPI = incidence (share of people who are poor) × intensity (their average deprivation), so it falls only when fewer are poor or the poor are less deprived.
| Aspect | Income line | Global MPI |
|---|---|---|
| Measures | Income or spending | Overlapping deprivations |
| Answers | Who is poor | How many, and how deeply |
| Policy use | Cash transfers | Targeted services |
What the latest report shows
- Global scale: across 107 developing countries, 1.3 billion people, 22 per cent, are multidimensionally poor; 65 of 75 countries studied cut their MPI significantly.
- India's leap: India halved its MPI between 2005/06 and 2015/16 and recorded the world's biggest fall in poor people, over 270 million.
- Since then (2023 edition): incidence 16.4%, intensity 42.0% (2019/21 data); multidimensional incidence is 6.4 points above monetary poverty at $2.15 a day.
What it implies for India
- Income hides deprivation: many above the money line still lack nutrition, sanitation or housing; a further 18.7% are vulnerable to poverty.
- Schemes matter: NITI Aayog's twelve-indicator national MPI fell from 24.85% (2015–16) to 14.96% (2019–21), credited to sanitation, cooking-fuel and housing schemes.
- Limits: survey data lag by years; household scoring hides inequality within the home, especially for women and girls; income shocks such as the pandemic go unseen.
Way forward
- Convergence: target nutrition, schooling and housing deficits together in the lagging districts and social groups.
- Fresher data: shorten survey cycles and publish State and district MPIs to guide budgets.
India's commitment under SDG target 1.2, to cut poverty 'in all its dimensions according to national definitions', can be judged only by incidence and intensity, never by an income line alone.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
